Butler County, Alabama, had a major loss of records in an 1853 courthouse fire. No marriage record found in Butler or Pike Counties, Alabama.[1] Estate file of Mary Holland lists her heirs, including “Elizabeth Cook, wife of James C. Cook.”[2] Elizabeth is likely the female 15–19 in her father, James's, household in 1840. James & Elizabeth’s first child, Sarah, was born in April 1842. Based on those dates, they were likely married between 2 June 1840 and sometime in July 1841. Tom King, a descendant of William Benson & Sarah Cook, says he has copies of a Bible that lists their marriage as 8 July 1841. He has not supplied a copy for me. This date fits in the time frame above.[3]

[S124] Tom L. King [(e-address for private use),] to Lori Cook-Folger, e-mail, 24 November 2016, “Benson-Holland-Cook”; privately held by Cook-Folger.

[S299] Crenshaw County, Alabama, Marriages, A:9, Cook to Holland, 1867; imaged, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : viewed 7 September 2016), image 13 of 691 from FHL microfilm 1,288,731. This is a typescript of the original. It appears to be all that survives.